Narrow elastic waistband fabric and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A lightweight, narrow, elastic, waistband fabric comprising two sets of warp yarns. The warp yarns of one set are elastic core covered and the warp yarns of the other set are non-covered. The warp yarns are woven in a reverse leno weave with each elastic core covered yarn leno woven with a doup yarn. Adjacent elastic yarns are on opposite faces of the fabric and the elastic yarns along the longitudinal edges of the leno weave are on the same face of the fabric and are woven in a reverse leno with respect to each other.

United States Patent Goff, Jr. et a1.

[ Sept. 30, 1975 NARRow ELASTIC WAISTBAND FABRIC AND METHOD OFMANUFACTURING THE SAME Inventors: Richard Everett Goff, Jr.,

Barrington; Normand Daniel Guay, Woonsocket, both of R.l.

Assignee: Johnson & Johnson, New

Brunswick, NJ.

Filed: May 1, 1974 Appl. N0.: 465,776

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 435,060,Jan. 21,

US. Cl 139/419; 139/421 Int. Cl. D03D 19/00 Field of Search 139/383,419, 420 R, 421,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1929 Moore 139/419 /6. II/Ill1,961,961 6/1934 Coldwell 139/419 2,582,169 1/1952 Schiappa 139 4213,172,430 3/1965 Weidhaas 139/422 3,788,366 1 1974 Campbell et a1,139/419 Primary ExaminerHenry S. Jaudon [57] ABSTRACT A lightweight,narrow, elastic, waistband fabric comprising two sets of warp yarns. Thewarp yarns of one set are elastic core covered and the warp yarns of theother set are non-covered. The warp yarns are woven in a reverse lenoweave with each elastic core covered yarn leno woven with a doup yarn.Adjacent elastic yarns are. on opposite faces of the fabric and theelastic yarns along the longitudinal edges of the leno weave are on thesame face of the fabric and are woven in a reverse leno with respect toeach other.

14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 2 of2 lNARROW ELASTIC WAISTBAND FABRlciAND METHOD OFMANUFAC T UR ING SfAIVIE vI This is a continuation-impart applicationof our copending applicationSer. No. 435,060 filed-Jan, 21, 1974.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years narrow elastic fabrics havegained considerable acceptance as waistbands in articles of apparel.This is especially true if the apparel is made from knit and/or stretchtype fabrics as is so prevalent today. Waistbands should have thecharacteristics of preventing rollover of the edge of the apparel, theyshould be resilient, have desired washing and dry cleaning properties aswell as the necessary stretch characteristics. Furthermore, it isdesirable that they have aesthetic qualities and when used insummer-weight wear or in many womens garments, childerns garments andthe like, they should be lightweight.

-In the past it has been extremely difficult if not impossible toproduce a narrow elastic waistband fabric which has the necessarystretch and shrinkage characteristics, prevents rollover, yet islightweight and remains stable throughout its use.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION We have discovered an improved narrowelastic fabric which is suitable for use in the band encircling portionsof articles of apparel, especially summer-weight clothing and womens orchildren's wear. Our new fabric has all the desirable characteristics ofwashability and drycleanability, resilience, and prevents rollover ofthe edge of the garment. Furthermore, our new fabric is very open andhas a pleasing appearance yet is stable throughout its intended use.

In the body or center portion of our new elastic waistband fabric thereare two sets of warp yarns.,One set of warp yarns comprises elasticyarns which are either covered rubber core yarns or covered spandex coreyarns. The other set of warp yarns comprise yarns other than the elasticyarns mentioned above; that is, they may be texturized yarns,monofilament yarns, multifilament yarns, spun yarns and the like. Thewarp yarns are woven in a reverse leno weave with each elastic yarnbeing leno woven with a doup yarn of said other set. Adjacent elasticyarns are disposed on opposite faces of the fabric and the outermost oredge leno woven elastic yarns are disposed on the same face of thefabric and are woven in a reverse leno weave with respect to each other.Preferably monofilament filling yarns are used in the fabric of thepresent invention and an odd number of filling yarns are woven betweeneach leno crossing of the warp yarns.

When monofilament filling yarns are used it is preferred that the outeredges of the fabric be woven with texturized yarns to produce smooth,soft outer edges. This may be accomplished by using one ormore elasticwarp yarns and a plurality of texturizedyarns along the outer edges ofthe fabric. These warp yarnsare woven with the filling yarns in athree-by-one weave togproduce a rounded edge with the edge completelycovered by the texturized yarns.

In one embodiment of the waistband fabric of the present inventionsynthetic texturized yarns are included in the .warp set. Thesetexturized f yarns are woven so as to float on one surface ofthe-waistband to produce a plush, smooth and soft surfacel DESCRIPTIONOFTHE DRAWINGS I The invention will be more fully described when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a nar-- row elasticfabric waistband of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the leno weave of the narrowelastic fabric of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the outer edge of an embodiment ofthe narrow elastic fabric waistband;

and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of another embodiment of the leno weaveof a narrow fabric waistband of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, in FIG.1 there is shown in these outer edge portions may be constructeddifferently depending on the desired characteristics of the edgeportions. Referring more specifically to FIG. 2 the center portioncomprises two sets of warp yarns. One of the sets of warp yarns containselastic yarns 15, 15', 15" that is, either a rubber yarn on a spandexyarn. These elastic yarns are covered with other yarns such as nylon,polyester, etc. to give the elastic yarn desired fabric properties.

The other set of warp yarns or the doup yarns comprises any of thestandard yarns l6, 16, 16'' other than the elastic yarns describedabove. This set of warp yarns may be texturized or stretch yarns,miltifilame-nt yarns, monofilament yarns, spun yarns and the like. Theyarns may be made from nylon, polyester, rayon, cotton, etc.

The two sets of warp yarns are woven in a reverse leno weave with eachelastic yarn 15, 15' leno woven with a doup yarn 16, 16' The twistingthread in the leno weave or the doup yarn is" the nonelastic yarn. Asseen in the drawings starting on the right hand side of the drawing thefirst leno woven elastic yarn 15 has the doup yarn 16 crossing over fromthe left to the right hand side of the yarn and then back from the rightto the left hand side of the elastic yarn. The next elastic yarn 15' hasthe doup yarn 16' passing beneath the elastic yarn and going from theright to the left hand side and from the left back to the right handside so that the twisting yarns or doup yarns 16 are in a reverseposition or a reverse leno weave. The first elastic yarn 15 is on theback surface of the fabric as seen in the drawing and the next elasticyarn 15' is on the-top surface of. the fabric as seen in the.,drawings.The reverse lenofwoven structure is continued across the width of thefabric with adjacent elastie yarns being a woven so as to be on oppositefaces of the fabric. The.

reverse leno weave is continued across the fabric to the other edge andthe last leno woven elastic yarn IS"' is woven so that it is on the sameface as the first leno woven elastic yarn but is in a reverse leno weavewith respect to the first leno woven elastic yarn.

The above described structure is critical to the pres ent invention inorder to produce an open lightweight fabric which is completely balancedand stable. With out this structure one edge of the fabric will contractmore than the other edge of the fabric and the fabric will becurvilinear. Also without this structure the yarns will not be stablewith respect to each other and will shift when the fabric is washed ordry cleaned. In our new fabric there is an odd number ofleno wovenelastic warp yarns with adjacent yarns being on opposite surfaces of thefabric and with adjacent elastic yarns woven in a reverse leno weave.The outermost leno woven yarns are on the same surface of the fabric andwoven in a reverse leno weave with respect to each other.

The leno woven warp yarns are woven with filling yarns. It is preferredthat the filling yarns be monofilament yarns to provide the necessarystiffness in the widthwise direction of the fabric so that the fabricwill be suitable as a waistband and will prevent rollover about theouter edge of the garment to which it is attached. The monofilamentyarns may be nylon, polyporpylene or any of the other well-knownmonofilament yarns. The monofilament filling yarns are woven with thewarp yarns in a plain one-by-one weave with an odd number of fillingyarns (in this embodiment three), between each reverse or twist of theleno yarns.

It is preferred that the outer edges 12 and 13 of the narrow elasticfabric of the present invention comprise one or more elastic yarns ofthe same type as are used in the center portion of the fabric, and aplurality of texturized yarns. The texturized yarns and the elasticyarns run in the longitudinal or warp direction of the fabric and thetexturized yarns are disposed about the greater portion of the peripheryof the outermost elastic yarns. The elastic yarns and texturized yarnsare woven with the filling yarns in any suitable weave that will holdthe filling yarns in place such as a threeby-one weave or the like. Thetexturized yarns produce a soft, smooth outer edge and cover and bendareas of the monofilament filling yarns which are quite harsh. In FIG. 3there is shown a cross-sectional view of such a desired outer edge withthe center yarn 20 being the elastic yarn and the outer yarns 21 beingtexturized yarns woven alternately with the monofilament filling yarn22.

Generally the number of warp yarns per inch in the body of the fabricwill be from about 10 to 30 warp yarns per inch with half of these beingelastic yarns and the other half being nonelastic yarns. The number andsize of warp yarns used and how many filling yarns are woven betweeneach twist will control the openness and appearance of the final fabric.

The preferred filling yarns are monofilament yarns from about 400 toI200 denier usually around the 850 denier range for narrow width fabricof one inch or less and l 100 denier for fabrics having a width of oneinch or more. The lower denier yarn does not offer the desired stabilityand too high a denier yarn is very difficult to bend to make the edge ofthe fabric and will cause many loom breakdowns. Low denier filling yarnsmay be used if the fabric is made on a needle loom as opposed to "a1"st;a'ndard weaving loom. The difference being that m theriedle loom twofillings weave as one filling yarn. As seen in FIG. 4 there are sixfilling yarns 25 between each leno twist with a pair of filling yarnsweavingin' exactly the same manner. When producing such a fabric deniersas low as 300 denier of 8 mil or even lower may be used. The needle loomfabric 30 shown in FIG. 4 comprises elastic yarns 31 which are reverseleno woven with doup yarns 32. Adjacent elastic yarns are disposed onopposite faces of the fabric and the outermost leno woven elastic yarnsare disposed on the same face of the fabric but are woven in a reverseleno weave with respect to each other.

The narrow elastic fabric utilizing the critical essence of the presentinvention wherein elastic yarns are reverse leno woven with nonelasticyarns and adjacent elastic yarns are on opposite faces of the fabric andthe outermost leno woven elastic yarns are on the same face of thefabric but are reverse leno woven with respect to each other hasexcellent stability even though it is very open and light-weight. Theresultant fabric will not rope, is resilient, has stiffness in thewidthwise direction and produces an excellent waistband especially forlighterweight garments.

In various types of apparel such as bathing suits and the like thewaistband may contact the skin of the wearer. When such is the case itis desired that the waistband have a plush, smooth and soft surface toreduce irritation and be more confortable. Our new waistbnad may beprovided with a plush surface by incorporating synthetic texturizedyarns in the center portion of the fabric. The texturized yarns are warpyarns and from one to four or more texturized yarns may be disposedbetween adjacent leno woven warp yarns. The texturized warp yarns arefloated on one surface of the waist-band by weaving these yarns with thefilling yarns in a satin weave and floating these yarns over from fourto nine adjacent filling yarns and preferably from five to sevenadjacent filling yarns. If the texturized yarns are floated over lessthan four adjacent filling yarns they do not produce a plush and softsurface. If the texturized yarns are floated over more than nineadjacent filling yarns they will snag, get caught and possible break inuse. Any of the synthetic texturized yarns may be used to produce theplush surface, such as texturized nylon yarns, texturized polyesteryarns, and the like.

The following is an illustrative example of a narrow elastic waistbandfabric according to the present invention.

EXAMPLE Two warp sets are made to weave a narrow elastic fabric inaccordance with the present invention. The fabric is to have a width ofapproximately 1 /2 inches and one of the warp sets comprises 15 elasticyarns with each yarn having a spandex core of approximately lar to theyarns used in the center portion and eight texturized nylon warp yarns.The two elastic yarns and the eight texturized nylon yarns are wovenwith the filling yarns in a three-by-one weave with the texturized nylonyarns disposed about the periphery of the elastic yarns. The resultantfabric is open and lightweight. It is very stable and the yarns do notshift or move with respect to one another. The fabric is stiff andresilient in the widthwise direction and makes an excellent waistband.

The above detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only. No unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A lightweight narrow elastic waist-band fabric comprising two sets ofwarp yarns, the yarns of one of said warp yarns being elastic yarnsselected from the group consisting of rubber core yarns and spandex coreyarns, the yarns of the other of said warp set being doup yarns selectedfrom the group consisting of stretch or texturized yarns, filament yarnsand spun yarns, a plurality of said warp yarns woven in a reverse lenoweave with each elastic yarn leno woven with a doup yarn, adjacentelastic yarns being leno woven alternately under and over the doup yarnsso as to be disposed on opposite faces of the fabric and the outermostleno woven elastic yarns being disposed on the same face of the fabricand woven in a reverse leno weave with respect to each other.

2. A lightweight narrow elastic waistband fabric having a center portionand two longitudinal edge portions, the center portion comprising twosets of warp yarns, the yarns of one of said warp sets being elasticyarns selected from the group consisting of rubber core yarns andspandex core yarns, the yarns of the other of said warp sets being doupyarns selected from the group consisting of stretch or texturized yarns,filament yarns and spun yarns, said warp yarns of the center portionwoven in a reverse leno weave with each elastic yarn leno woven with adoup yarn, adjacent elastic yarns being leno woven alternately under andover the doup yarns so as to be disposed on opposite faces of thefabric, the outermost leno woven elastic yarns of the center portionbeing disposed on the same face of the fabric and woven in a reverseleno weave with respect to each other, each edge portion of the fabriccomprising at least one elastic warp yarn and a plurality of texturizedwarp yarns, and a set of filling yarns woven with the two warp sets ofthe center portion and with the warp yarns in both outer edges of thefabric.

3. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein the elastic warpyarns have a spandex core 6. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim2 wherein six filling yarns are woven between each twist of the lenoweave with the filling yarns weaving as three pairs of yarns.

7. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein from five to 20warp yarns per inch are used in each warp set in the center portion ofthe fabric.

8. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein the elastic warpyarns have a spandex core wrapped with nylon multifilament yarns, thedoup yarns are multifilament nylon yarns and the filling yarns aremonofilament nylon yarns.

9. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 8 wherein there are threefilling yarns between each twist of the leno woven warp yarns.

10. A narrow elastic fabricaccording to claim 2 wherein the elasticyarns are spandex core yarns wrapped with nylon multifilament yarns, thefilling yarns are monofilament nylon yarns, each warp set in the centerportion of the fabric contains from five to 20 warp yarns per inch, andthree filling yarns are woven with the warp yarns in the center portionof the fabric between each twist of the leno woven warp yarns.

11. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein themonofilament filling yarns have a denier of from 400 to 1200.

12. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein synthetictexturized yarns are incorporated in the center portion of the fabric inthe warp direction and the texturized yarns are woven with the fillingyarns in a satin weave and float over from four to nine adjacent fillingyarns.

13. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 12 wherein the synthetictexturized yarns are nylon yarns.

14. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 12 wherein from one tofour synthetic texturized yarns are disposed between adjacent pairs ofleno woven yarns.

1. A lightweight narrow elastic waist-band fabric comprising two sets ofwarp yarns, the yarns of one of said warp yarns being elastic yarnsselected from the group consisting of rubber core yarns and spandex coreyarns, the yarns of the other of said warp set being doup yarns selectedfrom the group consisting of stretch or texturized yarns, filament yarnsand spun yarns, a plurality of said warp yarns woven in a reverse lenoweave with each elastic yarn leno woven with a doup yarn, adjacentelastic yarns being leno woven alternately under and over the doup yarnsso as to be disposed on opposite faces of the fabric and the outermostleno woven elastic yarns beiNg disposed on the same face of the fabricand woven in a reverse leno weave with respect to each other.
 2. Alightweight narrow elastic waistband fabric having a center portion andtwo longitudinal edge portions, the center portion comprising two setsof warp yarns, the yarns of one of said warp sets being elastic yarnsselected from the group consisting of rubber core yarns and spandex coreyarns, the yarns of the other of said warp sets being doup yarnsselected from the group consisting of stretch or texturized yarns,filament yarns and spun yarns, said warp yarns of the center portionwoven in a reverse leno weave with each elastic yarn leno woven with adoup yarn, adjacent elastic yarns being leno woven alternately under andover the doup yarns so as to be disposed on opposite faces of thefabric, the outermost leno woven elastic yarns of the center portionbeing disposed on the same face of the fabric and woven in a reverseleno weave with respect to each other, each edge portion of the fabriccomprising at least one elastic warp yarn and a plurality of texturizedwarp yarns, and a set of filling yarns woven with the two warp sets ofthe center portion and with the warp yarns in both outer edges of thefabric.
 3. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein theelastic warp yarns have a spandex core wrapped with nylon multifilamentyarns.
 4. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein thefilling yarns are monofilament nylon yarns.
 5. A narrow elastic fabricaccording to claim 2 wherein three filling yarns are woven between eachtwist of the leno weave.
 6. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2wherein six filling yarns are woven between each twist of the leno weavewith the filling yarns weaving as three pairs of yarns.
 7. A narrowelastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein from five to 20 warp yarnsper inch are used in each warp set in the center portion of the fabric.8. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein the elastic warpyarns have a spandex core wrapped with nylon multifilament yarns, thedoup yarns are multifilament nylon yarns and the filling yarns aremonofilament nylon yarns.
 9. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim8 wherein there are three filling yarns between each twist of the lenowoven warp yarns.
 10. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2wherein the elastic yarns are spandex core yarns wrapped with nylonmultifilament yarns, the filling yarns are monofilament nylon yarns,each warp set in the center portion of the fabric contains from five to20 warp yarns per inch, and three filling yarns are woven with the warpyarns in the center portion of the fabric between each twist of the lenowoven warp yarns.
 11. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2wherein the monofilament filling yarns have a denier of from 400 to1200.
 12. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 2 wherein synthetictexturized yarns are incorporated in the center portion of the fabric inthe warp direction and the texturized yarns are woven with the fillingyarns in a satin weave and float over from four to nine adjacent fillingyarns.
 13. A narrow elastic fabric according to claim 12 wherein thesynthetic texturized yarns are nylon yarns.
 14. A narrow elastic fabricaccording to claim 12 wherein from one to four synthetic texturizedyarns are disposed between adjacent pairs of leno woven yarns.